Ball speed control mechanism



Jan. 24, 1967 w. D. CORNELL 3,300,212

BALL SPEED CONTROL MECHANISM Filed Dec. 6, 1963 4 Sheets sheet 1 Jan. 24, 1967 w. D. CORNELL 3,300,212

BALL SPEED CONTROL MECHANISM Filed Dec. 6, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 if h Jan. 24, 1967 w. D. CORNELL 2 BALL SPEED CONTROL MECHANISM Filed Dec. 6, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Jan. 24, 1967 w. D. CORNELL 3,300,212

BALL SPEED CONTROL MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec. 6, 1963 United States Patent 3,300,212 BALL SPEED CONTROL MECHANISM William D. Cornell, Grand Haven, Mich, assignor to Brunswick Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 6, 1963, Ser. No. 328,648 23 Claims. (Cl. 273-49) This invention relates to a ball speed control mechanism and more particularly to bowling ball accelerators and decelerators, each of which change the speed of a ball without the usual scufling and marking of the ball.

In the game of bowling, it is desirable to remove a ball from the pit area and return the ball to the bowler as rapidly as possible. It is therefore necessary to impart additional speed to the ball so it can rapidly traverse the ball return runway. Ball accelerators are of course old in the art; however, it has been a problem with the prior art ball accelerators to eliminate the marking and sending of the bowling balls as they are accelerated.

Also, once a ball has been accelerated and rapidly travels along the ball return runway, it is necessary that the forward momentum of the ball be reduced when it reaches the bowlers end of the bowling lane and enters the ball storage rack. Therefore it is desirable that a ball decelerator be positioned at the bowlers end of the lane to accomplish this reduction in ball speed with elimination of marking and scuffing of bowling balls as they are decelerated.

Ball marking which is caused by slippage between a driving member and the ball generally results because of three conditions. There is a possibility of abrasive material scratching the surface of the ball, a depositing of particles of the surface material of the drive member on the ball, and a dirt transfer between the driving member and the ball. Also, this scuffing is present because the acceleration is imparted from a member driven at a constant high speed directly to a slowly moving ball and some skidding and slippage between the ball accelerator and bowling ball takes place before the ball increases speed; or in the example of a ball decelerator, this slippage will take place between the decelerator member and the bowling ball before the ball decreases its forward momentum to equal that of the ball decelerator member.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved bowling ball speed-control mechanism which rapidly accelerates the ball without the accompanying marking and scufiing on the ball surface.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved bowling ball speed-control mechanism which rapidly decelerates the ball without the accompanying marking and scufiing on the ball surface.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved bowling ball speed system having a first and a second stage accelerator, the first stage gently contacting the slowly moving ball and the second stage imparting additional acceleration through the first stage member and a first and second stage decelerator receiving the ball from the accelerator, the first stage thereof rapidly rotating to contact a fast moving ball and the second stage reducing the speed of the ball through the first stage member.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved bowling ball speed-control mechanism having two belts, the first belt moving at a first speed for initially contacting the ball and the second belt contacting the first belt to impart a change in speed to the ball shorly after the ball enters the mechanism.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved bowling ball speed-control device positioned at the bowlers end of the lane which operates both as a ball decelerator and a bowling ball lift.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved bowling ball speed-control mechanism having a first stage member which decelerates the ball through contact with a second stage member, in which the first stage member by cooperating with the ball return track also operates as a bowling ball'lift.

Other objects and advantages will become readily apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of one part of the present invention showing the relationship of various parts of a ball accelerator as the bowling ball leaves the pit exit;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation similar to FIG. 1 showing the relationship of various parts of the accelerator when the bowling ball is being acted upon by the accelerator;

FIG. 3 is a plan view taken in the direction of the arrows at about line 33 in FIG. 2 with various parts broken away or shown in section to more clearly illustrate the first part of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section taken in the direction of the arrows at about line 4-4 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a vertical section taken in the direction of the arrows at about line 55 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation of a second part of the present invention showing the relationship of various elements of a ball decelerator as the bowling ball approaches the bowlers end of the lane;

FIG. 7 is a plan view taken in the direction of the arrows at about line 77 in FIG. 6 with various parts broken away or shown in section to more clearly illustrate the second part of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a side elevation of a second embodiment of the ball decelerator showing the relationship of various parts of a ball decelerator and ball lift as the bowling ball approaches the ball storage rack;

FIG. 9 is a pan view taken in the direction of the arrows at about line 99 in FIG. 8 with various parts broken away or shown in .section; and

FIG. 10 is a vertical section taken in the direction of the arrows at about line 1ll10 in FIG. 9.

While illustrative embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings and will be described in detail herein, the invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms and it should be understood that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiments illustrated. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.

A ball accelerator 10 is best shown in its environment in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4. It is located between the kickbacks 12 of two adjacent bowling lanes 14 and 16, each lane having a gutter 14 and 16 respectively. Pin spots 18 are shown on the bowling lanes 14 and 16 as is well known in the art. Pits 2.0 are located at the rear 'of lanes 14 and 16 and, as best shown in FIG. 4, include a ball exit opening 22, a movable door 24 blocking the opening 22 and a pit conveyor 26 sloping toward the ball exit opening 22. The pit of a bowling lane is well known in the art and need not be described further herein.

The ball accelerator 10 is composed generally of four main portions: the ball return track 28, a first conveying system 30 including its supporting elements, a second conveying system 32 and its supporting elements which second system accelerates a ball through the first conveying system, and a drive system 34 for furnishing power to the first and second conveying systems.

The ball return track 28 is made up of a pair of spaced apart rails 36 and 38 extending from the pit end of the lane to the bowlers end of the lane (not shown). These rails 36 and 38 are always spaced apart a distance less than the diameter of a bowling ball as shown in FIG. 3. However, at various locations in the accelerator the rails are spaced apart various distances. For example, at a the rails 36 and 38 are relatively close together thus supporting a ball resting thereon at a substantial distance beneath the center line of the ball. At b the distance between the rails widens so as to support a ball nearer its center line. At c the distance between the rails 36 and 38 again narrows. This varying distance between the rails 36 and 38 causes a slowing up of the ball travel at the wider portions and an increase in the speed of the ball travel at the narrower portions as is well known in the art. Design configuration of this type permits the surface speed of a ball to be accelerated first to the surface speed of the first conveying system 30 and subsequently to the surface speed of the second conveying system 32 with a minimum addition of kinetic enregy to the ball. It further permits addition of kinetic energy to the ball after all slippage required for smooth operation has ceased.

Also, as shown in FIG. 2 the pit end of the return track 28 is shown as sloping downwardly from the ball exit opening 22 to point a, upwardly to about point b, approximately level for a distance under the conveying members 30 and 32 to point and then descending downwardly and approximately level to the bowlers end of the lane (not shown). This combination of rail spacing and track raising and lowering tends to guide the ball exit opening 22, where the ball is moving very slowly, to the level portion of the track 28 leading to the bowlers end of the lane where the speed of the ball is substantially increased.

The first conveying system 36 consists of an endless belt 40 traveling over a forward pulley 42 and a rear pulley 44. These pulleys are mounted to channel member 46 afiixed to the kickbacks 12 by bolts as best shown at 48 and 50. The forward pulley 42 is rotatably mounted on a shaft 52 carried by arms 54. These arms 54 are pivotally connected as at 56 to channel members 46. A spring 58 is connected to a shaft 60 at the upper ends of arms 54 and to a shaft 62 located between the channel members 46. Thus, the spring 58 urges pulley 42 towards the forward or bowlers end of the lane about pivot point 56. The pulley 44 is attached to a shaft 64 through an overriding clutch mechanism 65, and the shaft 64 is rotatably supported as in bearings 66 between the channel members 46. Bearings 66 are adjustably mounted so that shaft 64 may be positioned to maintain the proper drive belt tension. Also affixed to shaft 64 is a drive pulley 68 the purpose of which will be discussed hereinafter.

The second conveying system 32 is similar to the first conveying system and includes a belt 70 supported by a forward pulley 72 and a rear pulley 74. The forward pulley is rotatably mounted on a shaft 76 which shaft is supported between arms 73. The arms 78 are pivotally mounted as at 80 on channel members 46 and are spring biased toward the forward or bowlers end of the lane as by a spring 82 mounted between a shaft 84 and the shaft 62 on the channel members 46. The rear pulley 74 is affixed to a shaft 86 which is mounted between the channel members 46 as by bearings 88. A drive pulley 90 and a drive pulley 91 are also afiixed to the shaft 86, the purpose of which will be described hereinafter. The drive system 34 generally includes a motor 92 supported as at 94 and having a drive pulley 96. A belt 98 connects drive pulleys 96 and 90 thereby driving shaft 86 and thus pulley 74 afiixed thereto.

A belt 100 connects the drive pulley 91 on the shaft 86 and the drive pulley 68 on the shaft 64 thus furnishing power to drive the pulley 44 through the overriding clutch mechanism 65.

In operation, the ball accelerator 10 accelerates a bowling ball in the following manner: belts 70 and 40 are constantly rotating, from power supplied by motor 92, with the belt 40 rotating at a relatively slow speed due to the size of drive pulley 68, and the belt 70 rotating at a faster speed because of the size of drive pulley 90. A bowling ball 102 exits from either of the pits 20 by means of the pit conveyors 26 and ball doors 24 as is well known in the art. When the ball 102 passes through ball exit opening 22 it is guided by guideways 104 to ball return track 28. The ball rolls by gravity to a where it is then contacted by slowly moving belt 40. At this time, the rolling speed of the ball and the rotational speed of belt 40 can be as nearly equal as possible to eliminate any slipping or scuffing when the ball 102 contacts belt 40. It is, of course, possible that belt 40 not be driven and the rolling ball be relied on to move belt 40 into contact with drive belt 70. The ball is then conveyed by belt 40 along ball track 28 and up the slope at b. At b the ball 102 forces slowly moving belt 40 into contact with faster moving belt 70. At this point slippage between belts 40 and 70 can occur without scuffing the surface of the bowling ball 102 since the frictional contact between the belt 40 and the bowling ball is greater than the frictional contact between belt 40 and belt 70. This allows any slippage necessary for a smooth acceleration to take place between the two driving belts and not beween the bowling ball 102 and the first driving belt 40. The bowling ball 102, because of the hereinbefore described track configuration, is forced into firmer contact with belt 70 and the belt 40 is then permitted to approach the faster driven speed of belt 70 because of the overriding clutch mechanism 65. The bowling ball 102 is accelerated along the ball track until it reaches 0 where it falls away from contact with belt 40. This difference in the frictional contacts between the two belts 40 and 70, and the ball 102 and belt 40, along with the track configuration described hereinabove to control the kinetic energy level of the ball 102, gives a smooth operating ball accelerator which allows the necessary slippage to start the accelerating movement, after which a positive acceleration takes place to speed the ball along the return track 28 toward the bowlers end of the lane. Springs 58 and 82 maintain pressure on arms 54 and 78 thus allowing movement of belts 40 and 70 to permit passage of the bowling ball 102 therebeneath and still maintain belts 40 and 70 in a taut condition.

It is preferred to drive belt 40 at a speed which just equals the speed of the ball 102 when the ball first contacts the belt 40 so that a smooth entrance of the ball 102 into the accelerator 10 is effected and no ball marking will occur. However, belt 40 may be driven at any speed less than the speed of belt 70 including zero rotation, and the energy in the moving ball as it exists from the pit will carry the ball into position with belt 40 and then force belt 40 into contact with belt 70.

It is, of course, possible to utilize the above described ball accelerator in a single bowling lane having only one ball exit opening.

It is thus possible to accelerate a bowling ball by means of the above described ball accelerator without the usual scufling or marking of the bowling ball taking place between the accelerator and the bowling ball due to the fact that the bowling ball is always in firm contact With the first accelerating means and any slippage necessary to accomplish a smooth and positive acceleration will take place between the first accelerating means and the second accelerating means.

A second part of the present mechanism is a ball dccelerator which operates on a similar but opposite principle to reverse the change in ball speed, that is, receive a fast moving ball and decrease its speed. The elements will .be numbered similarly to the first embodiment but in the 100 series.

As best shown in FIG. 6, the decelerator 110 is located above the ball return track 128. The decelerator may be located anywhere along the ball return track, but generally it is desirable that the ball speed be decreased just prior to the arrival of the balls at the bowlers end of the lane, and thus the decelerator would usually be placed immediately before the ball storage area (not shown). It is generally located beneath the level of the bowling lane and between the bowling ball gutters as at 114' and 116. A subway ball return of a bowling lane is well known in the art and need not be described further herein.

The ball decelerator 110 is composed generally of four main portions: the ball return track 128, a first conveying system 130 including its supporting elements, a second conveying system 132 and its supporting elements which second system decelerates a ball through the first conveying system, and a drive system 134 for furnishing power to the first and second conveying systems during idling and braking force during deceleration.

The ball return track 128 is made up of a pair of spaced apart rails 136 and 138 extending the length of the bowling lane. These rails 136 and 138 are always spaced apart a distance less than the diameter of a bowling ball as shown in FIG. 7. However, at various locations in the decelerator the rails are spaced apart various distances. For example, at AA the rails 136 and 138 are relatively close together thus supporting a ball resting thereon at a substantial distance beneath the center line of the ball. At BB the distance between rails widens so as to support a ball nearer its center line. At CC the distance between the rails 136 and 138 again narrows. This varying distance between the rails 136 and 138 causes a slowing up of the ball travel at the wider portions. Design configuration of this type permits the surface speed of a ball to be decelerated first to the surface speed of the first conveying system 130 and subsequently to the surface speed of the second conveying system 132 with a consequent subtraction of kinetic energy from the ball. It further removes the kinetic energy of the ball without permitting slippage between the ball and the decelerating elements.

Also, as shown in FIG. 6, the right hand end of the ball return track 128 is shown as sloping upwardly from a point an to about point bb, approximately level for a distance under the conveying systems 130 and 132 to point cc and then descending downwardly and approximately level for the remaining length of the ball return track 128. This combination of rail space and track raising and lowering aids the directing of the ball into and out of the ball decelerator in the most efiicient manner known: that is, when the ball passes over point cm and starts up the slope between point all and bb it is moving very rapidly; this upward slope slows the ball sufficiently for contact with the outer conveying system 130 which, in combination with the inner conveying system 132, decelerates the ball to point cc where it rolls down the slope and slowly continues along the ball return track.

The first conveying system 1311 consists of an endless belt 140 traveling over a forward pulley 142 and a rear pulley 144. These pulleys are mounted to channel members 146 afiixed along the bowling lane. The rear pulley 144 is rotatable on a shaft 152 carried by arms 154. These arms 154 are pivotally connected as at 156 to channel members 146. A spring 158 is connected to a shaft 160 at the upper ends of arms 154 and to a shaft 162 located between the channel members 146. Thus the spring 158 urges pulley 144 towards the rear or pit end of the lane about pivot point 156, thereby tensioning belt 140. The pulley 142 is attached to a shaft 164 through a slip clutch mechanism 165, and the shaft 164 is rotatably supported as in bearings 166 between channel members 146. Bearings 166 are adjustably mounted so that shaft 164 may be positioned to maintain the proper drive belt tension. Also aifixed to shaft 164 is a drive pulley 168, the purpose of which will be discussed hereinafter.

The second conveying system 132 is similar to the first conveying system and includes an endless belt 170 supported by a rear pulley 172 and a forward pulley 174. The rear pulley 172 is rotatably mounted on a shaft 176 which shaft is supported between arms 178. The arms 178 are pivotally mounted as at 180 on channel members 146 and are spring biased toward the rear or pit end of the lane as by a spring 182. Spring 182 is mounted between a shaft 184 at the upper ends of arms 178, and the shaft 162 on channel members 146 to thereby tension belt 170. The rear pulley 174 is aflixed to a shaft 186 which is mounted on the channel members 146 as by bearings 188. A drive pulley 198 and a drive pulley 191 are also afiixed to the shaft 186 for a purpose to be described hereinafter.

The drive system 134 generally includes a motor 192 supported as at 194 and having a drive pulley 196. A belt 198 connects drive pulleys 196 and 190 thereby driving shaft 186 and thus pulley 174 affixed thereto.

A belt 200 connects the drive pulley 191 on the shaft 186 and the drive pulley 168 on the shaft 164 thus furnishing power to drive the pulley 142 through the slip' clutch mechanism 165.

In operation, the ball decelerator decelerates a bowling ball in the following manner: endless belts 170 and are constantly rotating, from power supplied by motor 192, with belt 140 rotating at a relatively fast speed due to the size of drive pulleys 168 and 191, and belt rotating at a relatively slower speed because of the size of drive pulley 190. A bowling ball 182 travels along the ball return track 128 and as it approaches point aa it moves up the slope to point bb where it contacts fast moving belt 140. The ball is then conveyed by belt 140 along ball track 128 until the bowling ball 10 2 forces the faster moving belt 140 into contact with slowly moving belt 170. At this point slippage between belts 140- and 170 can occur without scuffing the surface of the bowling ball 102, since the frictional contact between the belt 140 and the bowling ball is greater than the frictional contact between belts 140 and 170. This allows any slippage necessary for smooth deceleration to take place between the two driving belts and not between the bowling ball 102 and the first driving belt 140. As the bowling ball 102, because of the hereinbefore described track configuration, is forced into firmer contact with belt 148, belt 140 is forced into firmer contact with belt 170 and the belt 140 is then permitted to approach the slower driven speed of belt 170 because of the slip clutch mechanism 165. The bowling ball 102 is then decelerated as it travels along the ball return track 128 until it reaches point cc where it falls away from contact with belt 140 and continues slowly along ball track 128.

The difference in the frictional contacts between the two belts 140 and 170, and the ball 102 and belt 140, along with the track configuration described hereinabove to control the kinetic energy level of the ball 182, gives a smooth operating ball decelerator which allows the necessary slippage at the beginning of the decelerating movement, after which a positive deceleration takes place to slow the travel of the ball 102 along the remaining portion of the return track 128. Springs 158 and 182 maintain pressure on arms 154 and 178 thus allowing movement of belts 140 and 170 to permit passage of the bowling ball 102 therebeneath and still maintain endless belts 140 and 170 in a taut condition.

It is preferred to drive belt 140 at a speed which just equals the speed of the ball 102 when the ball first contacts belt 140 so that a smooth entrance of the ball into the decelerator 110 is effected and no ball marking occurs. However, it is possible tooperate the decelerator by having belt 140 stationary when the ball enters and to utilize the movement of the ball to force belt 140 into firm contact with belt 170.

It is thus possible to decelerate a bowling ball by means of the above described ball decelerator without the usual sculfing or marking of the bowling ball taking place between the decelerator and the bowling ball, due to the fact that the bowling ball is always in firm contact with the first decelerating means and any slippage necessary to accomplish a smooth and positive deceleration will take place between the first decelerating means and the second decelerating means.

While each of the accelerators and decelerators have been described separately and may each be used as an individual unit, it is also contemplated that the two may be combined into a single system which may be utilized on either a single lane or a pair of adjacent bowling lanes. This may be accomplished by placing the accelerator on that portion of the ball return track which is adjacent the bowling lane pit and by placing the decelerator adjacent the bowling ball storage area. With this arrangement, the ball is then accelerated along the return track immediately after it is removed from the pit area, thus providing rapid return of the ball to the bowlers end of the bowling lane where it is then decelerated for safe and quiet entry into the ball storage.

A second embodiment of the ball decelerator is illustrated in FIGS. 8, 9, and 10, and is composed of a ball decelerator and a ball lift. The principle of operation of the ball decelerator is identical to the first embodiment, justdescribed, and with additional structure, the ball lift becomes an integral part of the mechanism. As far as possible, 200 series numbers will be used to describe the second embodiment.

As best shown in FIG. 8, the ball decelerator and lift 210 is located above the ball track 228 and below a ball storage area 229.

The ball decelerator and lift 210 is composed generally of four main portions: the ball return track 228, a first conveying system 230 including its supporting elements and the ball lift portion thereto, a second conveying system 232 and its supporting elements which second system decelerates a ball through the first conveying system, and a drive system 234 for furnishing power to the first and second conveying systems during idling and braking force during deceleration.

The ball return track 228 is made up of a pair of spaced apart rails 236 and 238 extending the length of the bowling lane and then curved upwardly and ending adjacent the ball storage area 229 as best shown in FIG. 8. These rails 236 and 238 are always spaced apart a distance less than the diameter of a bowling ball. However, at various locations in the decelerator and lift, the rails are spaced apart different distances. For example, at A the rails 236 and 238 are relatively close together thus supporting a ball resting thereon at a substantial distance beneath the center line of the ball. At B the distance between the rails widens so as to support a ball nearer its center line. At C the distance between the rails 236 and 238 again narrows. This varying distance between the rails 236 and 238 causes a slowing up of the ball travel at the wider portions. At section D the rails remain at a constant narrow spacing so that the ball lift will rapidly move the ball to the ball storage area 229. Design configuration of this type permits the surface speed of a ball to be decelerated first to the surface speed of the first conveying system 230, subsequently to the surface speed of the second conveying system 232 with a consequent subtraction of kinetic energy from the ball. It further removes the kinetic energy of the ball without allowing slippage between the ball and the decelerator elements.

As further shown in FIG. 8, the right hand section of the ball return track 228 is shown as sloping upwardly from a point a to about point 6', approximately level for a distance under the conveying systems 230 and 232 to "point 0 and then descending downwardly. The ball return track 228 then follows the generally curved configuration shown in FIG. 8 to form a substantially vertical track portion 231 and a curved portion 233, the function of which will be described hereinafter. This combination of rail space and track raising and lowering aids the directing of the ball into and out of the ball decelerator in the most eflicient manner known: that is, when the ball passes over point a and starts up the slope between point a and b it is moving very rapidly; this upward slope slows the ball sufiiciently for contact with the outer conveying system 23% which, in combination with the inner conveying system 232, decelerates the ball to point 0 where it is then conveyed between outer conveying system 230 up the vertical section of track 228 around the curved portion 233 and released at the ball storage area 229.

The first conveying system 236 consists of an endless belt 240 traveling over a forward pulley 242 and a rear pulley 244. These pulleys are mounted to channel members 246 affixed along the bowling lane. Immediately above pulley 242 is pulley 243 which defines the upper limit of the ball lift portion of the decelerator 210. Pulley 243 is rotatably mounted as at shaft 245 which shaft is supported by bearings as at 245'. The rear pulley 244 is rotatable on shaft 252 carried by arms 254. These arms 254 are pivotally connected as at 256 to channel members 246. A spring 258 is connected to a shaft 266 at the upper ends of arms 254 and to a shaft 262 located between the channel members 246. Thus the spring 258 urges pulley 244 towards the rear or pit end of the lane about pivot point 256, thereby tensioning belt 249. Pulley 242 is attached to a shaft 264 through a slip clutch mechanism 265 and an overriding clutch mechanism 265, and shaft 264 is rotatably supported as in bearings 266 between channel members 246. The slip clutch mechanism is generally placed on the shaft which drives the endless belt in contact with the ball. Also afiixed to shaft 264 are drive pulleys 268 and 269, the purpose of which will be discussed hereinafter.

The second conveying system 232 is similar to the first conveying system and includes an endless belt 270 supported by a rear pulley 272 and a forward pulley 274. The rear pulley 272 is rotatably mounted on a shaft 276 which shaft is supported between arms 278. The arms 278 are pivotally mounted as at 280 on channel members 246 and are spring biased towards the rear or pit end of the lane as by a spring 282. Spring 282 is mounted between a shaft 284 at the upper ends of arms 278, and the shaft 262 on channel members 24-6 to thereby tension belt 270. The forward pulley 274 is afiixed to a shaft 286 which is mounted on the channel members 246 as by bearings 28-5. A drive pulley 290 is also afiiXed to shaft 286 for a purpose to be described hereinafter.

The drive system 234 generally includes a motor 292 supported as at 294 and having drive pulleys 296 and 296. A belt 298 connects drive pulleys 296 and 269 thereby driving shaft 264 through the slip clutch mechanism 265 and thus pulley 242 afiixed thereto. A belt 300 connects drive pulley 296' with drive pulley 268 on shaft 264 and drive pulley 290 on shaft 286 thus furnishing power to drive the pulley 274.

In operation, the ball decelerator and lift 210 functions in the following manner: endless belts 270 and 240 are constantly traveling, from power supplied by motor 292 with the belt 240 traveling at a relatively fast speed due to the size of drive pulleys 269 and 296, and belt 270 traveling at a relatively slow speed because of the size of drive pulley 296', 268 and 296. At this time, overriding clutch 265' is operating to allow belt 240 to rotate at a fast speed. A bowling ball 102 travels along the ball return track 228 and as it approaches point a it moves up the slope to point b where it contacts fast moving belt 240. The ball is then conveyed by belt 249 along ball track 228 until the bowling ball 102 forces the faster moving belt 240 into contact with slowly moving belt 270. At this point slippage between belts 240 and 270 can occur without scufiing the surface of the bowling ball 102, since the frictional contact between the belt 240 and the bowling ball is greater than the frictional contact between belts 240 and 270. This allows any slippage necessary for smooth deceleration to take place between the two driving belts and not between the bowling ball 102 and the first driving belt 240. As the bowling ball 102, because of the hereinbefore described track configuration, is forced into firmer contact with belt 240, belt 240 is forced into firmer contact with belt 270 and the belt 240 is then permitted to approach the slower driven speed of belt 270 because of the slip clutch mechanism 265. The bowling ball 102 is then decelerated as it travels along the ball track 228 between points I) and c where it then is conveyed under pulley 242. At this time the overriding clutch 265' drives belt 240 and thereby lifts the ball up the ball lift portion 231 of ball track 228, between upper pulley 243 and ball lift track portion 233 for subsequent depositing in the ball storage area 229. The ball 102 is therefore in contact with belt 240 at all times from when it enters the ball decelerator at point a to its subsequent deposit in the ball storage area 229.

This operation is possible because of the dual-clutch mechanism. For example, when the clecelerator and lift 210 is idling with no ball present, belt 270 runs continuously at a slow speed as it is positively driven from motor 292, and belt 240 is driven at a high speed through the slip clutch mechanism 265. At this time overriding clutch mechanism 265 operates. When a bowling ball enters the decelerator and lift, belt 240 is slowed as described hereinabove and is positively driven through the overriding clutch mechanism 265' at a speed equal to the speed of belt 270. Since the ball weight and drag is greater than the slip clutch torque, belt 270 stays at a slow speed and is positively driven at this slow speed through the overriding clutch mechanism 265'. The ball is conveyed around the lift portion and deposited on ball storage rack 229. When the weight of the ball is removed from belt 240, the belt is accelerated to its original high speed through slip clutch mechanism 265. The torque of the slip clutch 265 is only in excess of the torque required to drive belts 240 at a high speed and is less than torque required to elevate a ball.

The difference in the frictional contacts between the two belts 240 and 270, and the ball 102 and belt 240, along with the track configuration described hereinabove to control the kinetic energy level of the ball 102, gives a smooth operating ball decelerator and lift which allows the necessary slippage at the beginning of the decelerating movement, after which a positive deceleration takes place. This slows the travel of the ball 102 before its entry into the ball lift section as at 231. Springs 258 and 282 maintain pressure on arms 254 and 278 thus allowing movement of belts 240 and 270 to permit passage of the bowling ball 102 therebeneath and still maintain endless belts 240 and 270 in a taut condition.

It is preferred to drive belt 24-0 at a speed which just equals the speed of ball 102 when the ball first contacts belt 240 so that a smooth entrance of the ball into the decelerator and lift 210 is effected and no ball marking occurs.

It is thus possible to decelerate a bowling ball by means of the above described ball decelerator and lift without the usual scuffing or marking of the bowling ball between the decelerator elements and the bowling ball, due to the fact that the bowling ball is always in firm contact with the first decelerating means and any slippage necessary to accomplish a smooth and positive deceleration will take place between the first decelerating means and the second decelerating means.

While the decelerator and lift has been described as a separate unit, it is of course possible to utilize this embodiment of the mechanism in a system having the ball accelerator disclosed hereinabove, or any other form of ball accelerator.

I claim:

1. A ball speed-control mechanism having an entrance end and an exit end, comprising: a ball return track; a. first moving belt positioned above said ball track, said belt being substantially parallel to said track and spaced a distance less than the diameter of a ball from the track; a resiliently mounted first pulley supporting that portion of the first belt at one end of the mechanism; a driving means; a second pulley driven by said driving means and supporting that portion of the first belt at the other end of the mechanism and driving said first moving belt; a second moving belt encircled by said first moving belt and positioned so that a :ball on said return track pushes the first moving belt into contact with said second moving belt; a resiliently mounted third pulley supporting that portion of the second moving belt at said one end of the mechanism; a fourth pulley driven by said driving means and supporting that portion of the second belt at the other end of the mechanism, said fourth pulley driving said second moving belt at a different speed than the speed of said first moving belt; and means in the drive to the second pulley allowing the speed of the first moving belt to approach the speed of the second moving belt when said belts are in contact.

2. The ball speed-control mechanism described in claim 1 wherein the last mentioned means includes a clutch mechanism connected to the second pulley.

3. The ball speed-control mechanism described in claim 1 in which the friction between the first moving belt and a bowling ball exceeds the friction between the second moving belt and the first moving belt thereby allowing any necessary slippage to occur between the first moving belt and the second moving belt while the ball and the first moving belt are in positive contact.

4. A ball speed-control mechanism for use with a bowling lane having a bowlers position at one end thereof and a pit with a pit ball exit at the other end, comprising: a ball return track having one end adjacent the pit ball exit and the other end adjacent the bowlers position; a first belt positioned substantially parallel to and spaced a distance less than the diameter of a ball from the return track; means for movably supporting said belt; a second belt adjacent said first belt and operatively related thereto; means for movably supporting said second belt; and means for driving the second belt to cause relative travel of the belts, said second belt being engaged by said firs-t belt only when a ball is in engagement with the return track and the first belt.

5. A ball speed-control mechanism, comprising: a ball return track; a first belt; first driving means resiliently mounted for supporting and driving said first belt along a path adjacent the ball track, said first belt being spaced a distance less than the diameter of a ball away from said track; a clutch on said first driving means for permitting a change in driving speed; a second belt positioned adjacent said first belt and located so as to contact said first belt shortly after said first belt engages a ball on the ball track; and second driving means resiliently mounted for supporting and driving said second belt along a path adjacent to and substantially parallel with said first belt, said second belt being driven at a different speed than said first belt.

6. A ball speed-control mechanism, comprising: a ball track; a first conveying means adjacent the track and spaced a distance less than the diameter of the ball therefrom; means for rotating said first conveying means at a predetermined speed; a second conveying means engageable by said first conveying means only in the presence of a ball and spaced a distance approximately the diameter of the ball from the ball track; means for rotating said second conveying means at a speed different than the speed of said first conveying means; and means allowing the speed of the first conveying means to approach the speed 1 l' of the second conveying means when said conveying means are mutually engaged.

7. A ball speed-control mechanism, comprising: a ball track; a first means for moving a ball, said means being adjacent the track and spaced a distance less than the diameter of the ball from said track; a second means for moving a ball, said second means being engageable by said first means only after the contact of the ball with said first means; and means for driving said second means to cause relative travel of said first and second ball moving means.

8. A ball speed-control mechanism having an entrance end and an exit end, comprising: a ball return track; a first endless belt positioned above said ball track, said belt being substantially parallel to said track and spaced a distance less than the diameter of a ball from the track; a resiliently mounted first pulley supporting that portion of the first belt at one end of the mechanism; a second pulley supporting that portion of the first belt at the other end of the mechanism; a second moving belt encircled by said first belt; a driving means; a resiliently mounted third pulley supporting that portion of the second moving belt at said one end of the mechanism; and a fourth pulley driven by said driving means and supporting that portion of the second moving belt at the other end of the mechanism, said first and second belts being operatively related so that as a ball on said return track contacts said first belt said first belt contacts said second moving belt, and said ball and said first belt are thereby driven by said driving means through the second moving belt.

9. The ball speed-control mechanism described in claim 8 in which the friction between the first belt and a bowling ball exceeds the friction between the second moving belt and the first belt thereby allowing any necessary slippage between the first belt and the second moving belt while the ball and the first belt are in positive contact.

10. A ball speed-control mechanism, comprising: a ball track; a first belt adjacent the track and spaced a distance less than the diameter of a ball therefrom; a second movable belt engaged by said first belt only in the presence of a ball and spaced a distance approximately the diameter of the ball from the ball track; and means for moving said second belt so that as a ball on said ball track engages said first belt, said ball moves said first belt into contact with said second belt, the ball and said first belt thereby being driven through said second belt.

11. A ball decelerator mechanism for use with a bowling lane having a bowlers position at one end thereof and a pit with a pit ball exit at the other end, comprising: a ball return track having one end adjacent the pit ball exit and the other end adjacent the bowlers position; a first belt positioned substantially parallel to and spaced a distance less than the diameter of a ball from the return track; means for supporting said belt and imparting rotation there-to; a slip clutch on said means; a second belt adjacent said first belt and operatively related thereto; and means for supporting said second belt and imparting movement thereto, the movement of said second belt being slower than the movement of said first belt, said second belt being engaged by said first belt only when a ball is in engagement with the return track and the first belt.

12. A ball decelerator mechanism, comprising: a ball return track; a first belt; first driving means resiliently mounted for supporting and driving said first belt along a path adjacent the ball track, said first belt being spaced a distance less than the diameter of a ball away from said track; a slip clutch on said first driving means for permitting a decrease in driving speed; a second belt positioned adjacent said first belt and located so as to contact said first belt shortly after said first belt engages a ball on the ball track; and second driving means resiliently mounted for supporting and driving said second belt along a path adjacent to and substantially parallel with said first belt, said second belt being driven at a slower speed than said first belt.

13. A ball decelerator mechanism, comprising: a ball track; a first conveying means adjacent the track and spaced a distance less than the diameter of the ball therefrom; means for rotating said first conveying means at a predetermined speed; a second conveying means engageable by said first conveying means only in the presence of a ball and spaced a distance approximately the diameter of the ball from the ball track; means for rotating said second conveying means at a speed less than the speed of said first conveying means; and means allowing the speed of the first conveying means to approach the speed of the second conveying means when said conveying means are mutually engaged.

14. A ball decelerator mechanism, comprising: a ball track; a first means for moving a ball, said means being adjacent the track and spaced a distance less than the diameter of the ball from said track; means for rotating said first means at a predetermined speed; a second means for moving a ball, said means being engageable by said first means only after the contact of the ball with said first means; means for rotating said second means at a speed less than the speed of said first means; and means allowing the speed of the first ball moving means to approach the speed of the second ball moving means when said ball moving means are mutually engaged.

15. A ball decelerator mechanism having an entrance end and an exit end, comprising: a ball return track; a first endless belt positioned above said ball track, said belt being substantially parallel to said track and spaced a distance less than the diameter of a ball from the track; a resiliently mounted first pulley supporting that portion of the first belt nearest the entrance end of the decelerator; a second pulley supporting that portion of the first belt nearest the exit end of the decelerator; a second moving belt encircled by said first endless belt and positioned so that a ball on said return track pushes the first belt into contact with said second moving belt; a driving means; a resiliently mounted third pulley supporting that portion of the second moving belt nearest the entrance end of the decelerator; a fourth pulley supporting that portion of the second moving belt nearest the exit end of the decelerator, said first and second belts being operatively related so that as a ball on said return track contacts said first belt said first belt contacts said second belt, said driving means driving said first belt at a speed greater than said second belt; and means allowing the speed of the first belt to approach the speed of the second belt when said belts are mutually engaged.

16. A ball speed-control mechanism as defined in claim 1 wherein the first moving belt travels at a relatively slow speed and said driving means includes means to drive said second moving belt faster than the first moving belt.

17. A ball speed-control mechanism as defined in claim 16 wherein the means in the drive to the second pulley includes an overriding clutch mechanism.

18. A ball speed-control mechanism as defined in claim 5 with said clutch being an overriding clutch to permit an increase in speed of said first belt.

19. A ball speed-control mechanism as defined in claim 7 including means for rotating said first means at a predetermined speed, and wherein said second means travels at a speed greater than the speed of the first means, and means allowing the speed of the first ball moving means to approach the speed of the second ball moving means when said moving means are mutually engaged.

20. A mechanism as defined in claim 1 in which said return track has a substantially vertical section at the exit end thereof, said first belt having a substantially vertical portion adjacent to said track vertical section and spaced therefrom a distance less than the diameter of a ball to define a ball lift, and a fifth pulley positioned above said second pulley and supporting said first belt, said driving means driving said second moving belt at a slower speed than the speed of the first moving belt.

21. A mechanism as defined in claim 20 wherein said means in the drive to the second pulley includes a slip 13 clutch mechanism and the friction between a ball and the first belt exceeds the friction between belts.

22. A mechanism as defined in claim 4 in which said first belt has a substantially vertical portion cooperating with a substantially vertical and parallel portion of the ball return track to form a ball lift, and means for driving said first belt including a slip clutch, said second belt being driven at a slower speed than the first belt.

23. A ball speed-control mechanism as defined in claim 6 in which said track and first conveying means have coacting generally vertically extending sections defining a ball lift and the means for rotating the second conveying means causes the speed of the latter to be less than the first conveying means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/1954 Huck 27349 7/1954 Kolbe et al. 198-203 8/ 1957 Congelli 273-49 5/1963 Luek et al 198128 11/1963 Anderson et a1 27349 5/1965 Miller 27349 FOREIGN PATENTS 5/1960 Canada.

DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner.

ANTON O. OECHSLE, Examiner. 

7. A BALL SPEED-CONTROL MECHANISM, COMPRISING: A BALL TRACK; A FIRST MEANS FOR MOVING A BALL, SAID MEANS BEING ADJACENT THE TRACK AND SPACED A DISTANCE LESS THAN THE DIAMETER OF THE BALL FROM SAID TRACK; A SECOND MEANS FOR MOVING A BALL, SAID SECOND MEANS BEING ENGAGEABLE BY SAID FIRST MEANS ONLY AFTER THE CONTACT OF THE BALL WITH SAID FIRST MEANS; AND MEANS FOR DRIVING SAID SECOND MEANS TO CAUSE RELATIVE TRAVEL OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND BALL MOVING MEANS. 